One country, five names, and a 9-0 defeat that still haunts the record books. DR Congo arrives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup carrying decades of history — and more than a little baggage from its only previous appearance.
Back in 1974, the country competed as Zaire. They lost all three group games, conceded 14 goals, and shipped nine of them in a single match against Yugoslavia — a defeat that still stands as one of the largest margins in World Cup history. By any measure, the bar for improvement is low. But the 2026 draw handed them Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan, and this is a far more capable squad than the one that showed up in West Germany half a century ago.
A history lesson in four names
The confusion around the team's name is real, and it runs deep. The country gained independence from Belgium in June 1960 as the Republic of the Congo — then had to immediately differentiate itself when a neighboring French colony claimed the exact same name two months later. Adding "Democratic" solved that problem, at least officially.
Then came Mobutu Sese Seko. After taking power in 1965, he renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and ran it as a dictatorship for 26 years. When his rule collapsed in 1997 — mid-way through qualifying for the 1998 World Cup — the country reverted to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On the pitch, the team's identity shifted with the politics. They competed in early Africa Cup of Nations tournaments as Congo-Léopoldville and then Congo-Kinshasa, winning the tournament in 1968 against considerable odds. They won it again in 1974, the same year they qualified for their first World Cup.
What to actually call them
Even now, the naming isn't uniform. FIFA officially lists the team as Congo DR. CAF uses DR Congo. Informally, people say Congo, the Congo, or — among older generations — still Zaire. None of it is technically wrong, which makes all of it slightly maddening.
What's clear is that the 2026 tournament marks the first time the name DR Congo will appear on a World Cup stage. They'll face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and James Rodríguez's Colombia, two sides that will attract the bulk of the pre-tournament attention — and the betting action. DR Congo's odds to advance from the group reflect that reality. But a team with two AFCON titles and a 52-year absence from the World Cup has something to prove, and the name on the back of the shirt has never been more stable than it is right now.
